Moving my Saltwater Tank

I have to relocate my saltwater tank to a more auspicious location.  Otherwise I will be spending like crazy.  It is a little scary to shift a big glass tank by myself.  It is very heavy and slippery.  I was afraid that it may slipped.  Although I took out most of the water, it is still very heavy with sand and about two inches of water.  Ok 6 cm in metric!  I am glad I moved it safe and sound.  Next I have to fix up the water pump.  Unfortunately, my wire that I bought for solar connection is bad.  I threw it out.  Tomorrow I shall buy new roll from AMK Industrial Park. 

After the move, I saw plenty of the shrimps I caught a few days ago.  I am glad they are alive and well.  I need to get more seaweed and fresh saltwater.  It is very nice to have a "free" saltwater aquarium.  I am happy just to gaze at it and watch the shimps move about.  It is better than watch TV!  The water is getting clearer as I put in the chemical to clear the algae.  I need to get more sea creatures to have a lively ecosystem.

Moving Starfruit Tree

I am starting up a saltwater aquarium and have to move my starfruit tree into a pot and place it on the front of our house.  I am quite proud to do the handiwork myself.  I sweat like a pig but the feeling of accomplishment is precious!  I fill up the hole with sand and needed more sand before I can have a stable platform for the glass fish tank.

It is very hot when I dug out the tree.  I hope the starfruit tree recover from the shock of the move.  I am glad to have a small changkul and gardening trowel for the job.  Having the right tools makes the job so much easier.

Downpour

The rain is so heavy in the afternoon.  Many got wet and I hope they do not get sick.  The farewell was very touching and watched in many countries.  All the Singapore embassies has the live telecast on.  It is the most public farewell that lived up to his stature and standing as an International Stateman.

Chinatown Wet Market

I rarely go to Chinatown wet market as it is wet and smelly.  But my brother-in-law and sister-in-law go there every Sunday morning.  So my wife is motivated to go.  She loved fish and to feed our B1 since fish is brain food.  I am a carnivore, so Foodie Market is my choice outlet.  B3 followed us this morning before he go for his CCA.  He is intrigued by the exotic live animal like turtles, terrapins, catfish and frogs.  No live chicken anymore.  The seafood is fresh and at good price.  So I will recommend this place for fresh grocery.  Best of all, the hawker center one level up has so many good stalls with long queues (aka famous). 

Chicken Rice - Boh Tong's Recommendation

I decided to try out Boh Tong's recommendation of Sin Kee in AMK Ave 3 and 10 hawker center.  I had chicken hor fun with gizzard.  I sat right next to the stall so that it will be easy when I have get my food.  I was a little surprised the guy serves the plate to me.  Then I got up to get chilli, he asked me to go to my seat and he will give it to me.  His service is awesome.  The hor fun is not bad but chicken a little fibrous.  Since it pass my tastebud, I decided to pack a chicken rice for B3.  I asked for roast chicken with braised egg and roast pork.  The price come to $4.50.

When B3 ate the chicken rice about two hours later, he says it is good.  So I told my wife I am putting Sin Kee as our approved supplier for chicken rice.

Changi Nasi Lemak

I have to buy replacement for my cellphone holder for my bikes.  So it is off to Changi Village where there is a shop that sell fairly cheap bike accessories.  The price is good but the holder breaks after some time.  Give me an excuse to eat in Changi Village. 

We went to the stall in the corner, the queue is quite short.  It was lunch time.  So we have been been more suspicious.  My wife took a bite and says this is nowhere compared to No. 1 in Adams Road.  I thought it may be the quality of rice as No. 1 use basmati rice.  Then she says it is the dishes.  I totally agree when I start eating from my plate.  After our meal, I walked around the hawker center and there is another nasi lemak stall with longer queue.  The food looked more appealing too.  I also noticed the stall did not have any awards.  I suspect the original owners are no longer there.

No. 1 Nasi Lemak

Yesterday, I go to Adams Road Hawker Center after dropping off B1 in school.  It is near lunch time so the car park was full.  We were lucky to get a carpark as the turnover is high.  We ordered at No. 1 Nasi Lemak stall as the food taste better and she has mutton for the most expensive set at $5.  Now she does not have achar anymore and we get two more slices of cucumber.  The auntie owner is still slow as usual but she is very warm and nice.  I enjoy chatting with her for a minute or two while she made my order.  I had a takeaway as I was not hungry.  The nasi lemak is so good my wife has a craving and ate up whatever leftover I saved for my boys. 

Weight Management is Hard!

I gained over a kilo during Chinese New Year and it stuck and refuses to go back down.   I tried exercising more but my back hurts.  I tried to cut down on food but always yield to temptations and craving.  The teh-C and teh halia even though it is siew dai or guran manis.  The hot weather makes me drink more and I like my drinks to be flavored and sweet.  This is an uphill battle.  I like Andrew Weil, author on health and wellness.  He says not to worry about weight too much.  He has a fairly big girth.  I do feel guilty and helpless but refused to cutdown on my calories.  So my self-discipline is weak. 

Cycling and swimming is not a good way to reduce.  Only running and reducing food intake or cutting down on sugars are effective.

B3's Birthday

I was sending B3 to school early in the morning and breaking news on the demise of our former Prime Minister.  It is his birthday and his immediate reaction is now he will always remember the anniversary of LKY since it falls on the same day. 

We celebrated his birthday with a chocolate cake from chocolate origins.  It is quite good.  B3 had a good day.  After I pick him up from school, he has Cold Stone Ice Cream.  Then he ate peanut mee chan kueh and bean curd from Jolly Bean.  He still have braised beef with rice.  What a hefty lunch!

Leaking Roof - Fixed!

It really poured this afternoon.  I am glad no water leak in any more.  Pretty good feeling.  It has taken the developer a long time to fix the leaky roof issue.  I hope this time it last.  Far East is not the best developer in my experience, but this time at least it tried even though it takes them forever.  They were basically stalling and pushing the issue to everyone else like the main contractor or subcontractors. 

The customer service manager is not bad...I meant not bad looking.  Frankly, she also work towards solving the problem.  So I am fairly satisfied with her performance so far.

Birthday Party for FIL

It is my father-in-law's birthday in Chinese calendar.  So we celebrated his birthday with at his home with MIL cooking vegetarian food.  Luckily, I ate before going.  The veg food is actually not bad but full of msg and I am very thirsty after consuming the food.  He is happy to have a crown making him the King for the hour.  I wore the cone hat and MIL and her daughters wore the flowers headband.  I had some paper trumpet and helicopter.  So it was pretty cool. 

B3's heartshape birthday cake was well received.  He did good.

Stirling Engine with Generator

Today, the package arrived.  I was excited when it was full of bubble wraps.  Indeed, it is my Stirling Engine.  Finally, I have a model Stirling engine with an electric generator.  Although it is just a scientific toy, it is my childhood dream come true.  I loved alternative energy and if I use a solar heat, the easy conversion beside water is stirling engine to generate electricity.  I fill up the alcohol burner with lighter fluid and light it up.  At first, it refuses to go.  Finally at quite high temperature, the flywheel spins continuously and the LED lighted up.  It is fun for me.

300 Tang Poems

I was in the library during lunch and saw the audiobook of the 300 Tang Poems.  So I borrow it to listen.  Now as I listen, I am falling asleep.  I am not good with poetry English or Chinese.  Since my Chinese is only "pi mao" or literally skin and hair, I only hear the musical sounds.  The words are beyond my comprehension.  Maybe I should get stories in Chinese.

Those Who Can, Do. Those Who Cannot, ...

Teach!

I was just passing time with Google and key in a name and the image pop up that look like the person I know.  So I clicked further and found her profile and yes indeed it is the right person.  This person who shall remain sexless worked for me as a Product Manager and had a bad temper.  Job performance was not good and does not listen.  Once the person interrupted when I was meeting with the technical manager from Britain.  He did not like the person's attitude and asked me to set some goals and fire the person.

The person left to join one of the Poly.  Now in NTU teaching.  When I saw the biography, Jack Black's movie The School of Rock came to my mind.  He said "those who can do and those who cannot teach" in front of all the teachers in the common room.

One more addition that I read before: Those who can do, those who can't, teach and those who can't teach, consult!

Mini Solar Water Heater and Low Temp Stirling Engine

The two broken tube arrived and B2 sent me the assembly manual.  So we fix it up today.  We will need to set up the system to make it work.  I am now reading the manual and will have to go to Youtube to learn how to set up the system.  After that I have engage a plumber to install the water pipe into the heater.  The system seems quite simple.  I will need to try out first and then expand to a bigger unit in future.  I am very happy to reduce my carbon footprint.

The low temperature Stirling Engine arrived today.  It is so easy to assemble and use.  I always drink hot drink, so I can put in on my cup and watch the Stirling run merrily.

Heavy Rain

The rain was heavy and it fill up the saltwater aquarium I left out the outside.  I wonder how the pistol shrimps will react to the dilution of the salinity.  I will need to find a cover to prevent it from overflowing whenever it rains.  This downpour will help to green up the PCN as most of the grass and bushes have turned brown due to lack of water.  The water in the reservoir is also quite dirty.  Although fishes are living there, I still wonder about the pollution.

Collins Grilled Bento

I was looking for a place for the family to eat and tired of the regular resturants like Din Tai Fung, Imperial Treasure.  I am not allowed to go Indian as I loved the Biryani in Sembawang(ex-North Point).  I check out on the internet and Collins Grilled Bento featured ribs.  So I decided to bring the boys there.  It is a coffeeshop style Western food but the serving is like resturant.  Price is reasonable at $53 for 4 dishes but there is no service.  The food is above average.  Salad is quite good.  Overall, it is not a bad deal.

Clean Water but No Baby Shrimps

It is interesting, the water is quite clean but not much life unlike before.  Now I do not see goby fish as well.  I did catch pistol shrimps and a big crab managed to escape from me!  I was disappointed.  The crab can swim fast and also it is good at burying itself into the sand.  Most small fishes have disappeared too.

I am happy past time at the beach.  There is a young Malay mother with two boys.  Her husband is looking after their third sleeping baby.  Malays is so relax and friendly unlike Chinese.  Men are curious and just take my things to look at without asking for permission.  Malays will make conversations and engaged in a friendly manner.  I was happy with playing with the two boys and the mum noticed as well.

Feast!

We had a feast for dinner this evening.  My brother brought a salt baked chicken and I boiled bones soup.  We had plenty of leftover from lunch and yesterday's meals.  While it is regular dishes, I feel very fortunate to enjoy good food at home at economical price.  Soup cost probably $12.  $3 for bones, $3 for fishcakes and fishballs, $5 for pig's stomach and a $1 for gas.  I boiled the soup for 8 hours, so the gas bill may be higher.

I broke the tank for the terrapins.  So finally B3 agreed to let his terrapins go.

Weather is hot today.  Cycling and other exercise is more difficult with the heat. 

Indian Vegetarian

I had Indian vegetarian in Rochester for lunch today.  The food was very good.  I ate more than usual since I do not have any meat.  I did not like their masala tea.  The dessert was sweet.  I had paper dosai, butter naan with dahl dish, cauliflower and spinach with cottage cheese.  The dosai was nice and crispy.  I enjoyed the food.

Park Avenue Apartments

I put two visitors into Park Avenue and they liked the apartments.  It is in UE Square.  I saw Park Hotel and park into the wrong hotel.  My carpark for the day is $30!!!  I will have to park in UE Square.  Maybe the park fees will be more reasonable.  I am shocked by the cost of parking!  We are an expensive country and city.

The nice thing about UE Square is the choice of resturants is pretty good.  We had Italian for lunch and Peony Jade for dinner.  Tomorrow I will have another day there.

Kway Chap AMK 5 Hawker Center

Today is a day of rest.  But we are busy with grocery shopping in the morning, have our lunch.  My in-laws dropped by.  Give us an interesting story of the Kway Chap seller in the AMK Ave 5 hawker center.  She had a fight with her neighbour over placement of chair.  It was big news in the Chinese papers.  She did not go to work for a long time.  The fight went to court which is why she is famous.  My mother-in-law describe her as slim and pretty and wears spaghetti straps which is an accurate description.  So I believe she is right in identifying this vendor as the protagonist in the court case.

Scoooby, the electric Scooter

I was killing time in the mall and at HomeFix, there is an electric Scooter available.  The price is a little steep at S$1,500.  The device is pretty cool and light.  It is also sleek and look like a regular kickscooter.  Only issue is the price.  So I may wait until I go to China again to buy the Unicycle or Single Wheelie.  I have a scooter now although it is not a good one.  I regret being impulsive.

Aliexpress!

When I was young, I love the Johnson Smith catalog.   It says Jokes, Tricks and Novelties.  There were scientific which I am passionate about and difficult to find things like Balloon Helicopters(which is now available in Popular) or giant weather balloons, super strong magnets, solar cells (0.5V, a couple milliamps).

I just discover Aliexpress and it is K in Wonderland with so many gadgets and devices.  I had seen it before but did not really look at it seriously as I worry about internet purchase.  However, my middle boy, B2 as he is referred to in the family is an experienced internet purchaser.  He has different accounts with eBay, Alibaba, Aliexpress and the works!  Almost a year back, I asked him to buy solar water pump as trial and he did and the device works.  Then I asked him to look for solar water heater but he let it lapse.  I followup with him several times but he did not deliver the info I need.

Then mummy asked him to buy a dehumidifier.  We save a lot of money buying direct from Korea.  Only problem is the buttons are in Korean and the manual is in Korean.  We had to ask our nephew's classmate mother to translate for us.  So it works with some difficulty.

I was then sold to negative ion footspa.  The claims are quite hard to believe.  For $20 a session, I thought it is worth a try.  During the session, the vendor says the machine costs $1,500 and yet loyal customers refused to buy the machine but come to him for many years.  I asked B2  to check out and he manage to get one for US$150.  So now for 10 sessions price, I have a nice shiny new machine to do at home.

Recently, I bought low temperature Stirling Engine.  I planned to buy it in Taipei Bookstore. Now I can get it for 20% of the price there.  Then there are other types of Stirling Engine and Live Steam Engine.  My dreams are coming true!  B2 even bought mini solar water heater so that we can do experiments.

Aliexpress is wonderful!

Sudden Hearing Loss

Sudden hearing loss just happens.  Current understanding is poor.  The hearing loss is real and it can be tested.  One of the ways to treat is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy or HBOT in short.  So the patient will go into a pressure chamber and pressure will increase to 2 atmospheres.  Breathing will be through a mask that delivers 100% oxygen.  This will give 100% SpO2 and also dissolved oxygen in plasma.  The increased oxygen level will oxygenate the inner ear reviving it.  I hope this therapy work!

B3 Going for Camp

B3 is busy packing up the list of things he is supposed to bring for his camp.  He is frustrated and flustered.  He need to bring metal plate, fork and spoon, torchlight and other stuff.  Luckily, his elder brothers went through the same exercise and told him to use the old track pants they had.  It is only one use from before.  It is lucky we get another use for this track pant.  I remember now that B1 was very excited and insistent on getting everything right in the list.  The school must have scare the shit out of the boys.  Now he is searching the house for poncho. 

I wonder about the financial burden of this one time event for the family who have not much to spare.

Dead Fishes

You can smell it a mile away.  Cycling at Punggol PCN, the smell of rotting fish was extremely strong.  I thought there are plenty of dead fishes in the reservoir.  There are one or two but the stench was pretty strong.  Once I get to the seaside, along the beaches are dead fishes.  Along the PCN are black garbage bags that emits out the rotting fish stench.  So many dead fishes and the whole seaside is contaminated with rotting fishes.  The plankton bloom is really bad for our fish farmers.  They are suffering from huge losses.

I could not catch any baby prawns too.  They are quite scarce due to the dead fishes or the plankton.

Heatwave

Incredibly hot today.  I felt so sleepy and have a long nap in the afternoon.  Luckily, my wife decided to switch on the airconditioning.  It is also because she decided to sleep as well.  Due to the heatwave, I did not cycle out to catch prawns for my fishes.  The Seletar Mall bring a cool respite from the heat.  It is nice just to walk inside aircond comfort.

I always blog about global warming and tried to save energy and be green.  The heatwave can be controlled by energy use through airconditioning and then it get into a vicious cycle of more heat generated requiring more energy to cool down and using energy increases global warming.

On the news, there are new sinkholes appearing in Syberia.  Some scientists think the holes are always there and the melting of permafrost(frozen ground) cause the ground to collapse.  The gracier in Antarctic is melting fast and collapsing as well.  So the end of the world as we know it may be near.